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Background and purpose: Chemotherapy with platinum-base cytotoxic drugs (PBCDs) are commonly used in treatment of different types of cancers. Significant amounts of these drugs enter the hospital effluent via urinary exertion of patients and could adversely affect the environment and different ecosystems.
Materials and methods: The samples (n=7) of 24 hours' hospital effluent were collected from a central cancer hospital in Isfahan, Iran using an autosampler for one week. After preparation of the samples, platinum levels were determined by inductive coupled plasma spectrophotometry (ICP-OES). Data on annual PBCDs consumption were obtained from the hospital pharmacy. Data analysis was done applying ANOVA.
Results: Annual consumption of PBCDs was 366.47 gr. Maximum and minimum concentrations of platinum in hospital effluent were 857 and 102 ng/L, respectively (mean concentration: 482.5±257 ng/L). Mean effluent platinum levels were found to be significantly correlated with daily administration of PBCDs (P<0.01).
Conclusion: Daily platinum release of the hospital’s effluent was about 1gr. The incidence of cancer has been increasing in recent years and many private clinics also offer chemotherapy treatments which could exacerbate polluting the environment. So, further studies are needed to evaluate the environmental effects of platinum from hospital effluents.
 

Keywords: chemotherapy, cytotoxic drugs, platinum, effluent, hospital

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